City fleet becomes greener
Allyson Yund - April 10th, 2008Hydrogen. Ethanol. Biodiesel. Electricity.
The need to implement alternative fuel sources has begun to take priority in municipal and national governments alike.
Although the U.S. government recently passed the U.S. Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS), signed into law in January as part of the Energy Independence and Security act of 2007 to try and implement these programs on a larger scale, Flagstaff has already begun to take a role in this process.
James Brohammer, fleet management superintendent for the city of Flagstaff, said the city has looked at the various departments requiring vehicles and identified where more fuel-efficient or alternative fuel vehicles appropriate for their needs would fit in.
Brohammer said, along with adding 10 fuel-efficient or alternative fuel vehicles to its fleet, the city plans to replace 41 of its existing vehicles with transportation that either uses alternative fuels or are more fuel-efficient.
“We’re looking at all avenues because not one single fuel source is going to save our nation’s energy situation,” Brohammer said. “Keep in mind that we can’t afford all hybrids because they’re more expensive. We’re looking from another approach. We want to spec. out better efficiency, like smaller compact cars that get at least 32 mpg.”
Currently, the city has 13 patrol cars and a handful of other vehicles that use Ethanol-85, an alternative fuel made primarily from corn, and approximately 20 hybrids.
Although ethanol is an up-and-coming fuel in the alternative fuels industry, the technology is currently dependent on corn and would not be able to be manufactured in places like Flagstaff with climates that are not suitable for agriculture.
Michael Wagner, a forestry professor at NAU, said new processes are being developed that would make it possible to manufacture ethanol from other substances.
“There is a process that is on the horizon called cellulosic ethanol, and what that process involves is taking wood…and breaking the bonds between the glucose molecules, and then creating a sugary solution which you can ferment and turn it into a liquid fuel,” Wagner said.
Brian Agnew, a teacher’s assistant for Montessori schools in Flagstaff, supports using alternative fuels in order to more positively impact the environment and decrease dependency on foreign oil. He said he thinks the need to use these fuels should be fairly self-explanatory.
“Our standards of how we choose to run around town aren’t doing so well for us,” Agnew said.
Because RFS aims to have yearly production of biofuels total or exceed 36 billion gallons by the year 2022 in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, creating these fuels from materials other than corn could make that goal more feasible. In fact, RFS proposes the bulk of these fuels should be what is known as advanced biofuels, which can include ethanol derived from sources other than corn, such as waste material, and by converting biomass into other alcohols besides ethanol.
Additional legislation in Arizona also aims to reduce greenhouse gasses by 50 percent by the year 2020 and open up new markets for biofuels in non-agricultural areas.
“That legislation is having a positive effect on energy that is coming from renewable sources like wood, so in that sense I think Flagstaff definitely has a potential,” Wagner said.
This issue has gained national attention because personal and commercial vehicle use is one of the leading contributors of greenhouse gasses in the United States.
“The main thing is we need energy security,” Brohammer said. “It’s not going to be very long before we’re going to be in a serious situation. The more alternative fuels we’ve got, the better off we’re going to be.”
There are also mounting concerns over efficiency of these alternative fuels.
“There’s a lot of critics that say, ‘well, ethanol is not as efficient as gasoline,’ but you have to keep in mind that fossil fuel is a finite resource,” Brohammer said. “Once you burn it, it’s gone forever. With ethanol and biodiesel, it’s renewable, it’s sustainable, you can re-grow the crop, we can keep jobs here in the United States; the money stays here and it doesn’t go overseas.”
The RFS takes into account which fuels would be most environmentally-friendly by looking at the emission of greenhouse gasses not only when burned by vehicles, but throughout the entire process of manufacturing the fuels.
Communities like Flagstaff that are perceived to be environmentally-friendly may be looked to as vanguards for environmental change. Although Wagner believes Flagstaff residents generally support measures and processes that support the environment, he believes it is not financially feasible for many to purchase new vehicles and that current lifestyles could hinder environmentally-friendly commuting.
“Basically, people are in an environment where people have to manage their money. They have a limited amount of money and they’re going to find an economical way to achieve their transportation needs,” Wagner said. “There certainly are people who will say, ‘well, I just won’t own a car, I’ll ride the bus.’ Not many people who can afford a car choose not to buy one. I think that’s a very good measure of how willing these people are to make that trade-off.”
He said he believes time commitments and personal priorities also play a role in decisions concerning personal transportation.
“I suppose it’s politically appropriate to say that ‘oh yeah, everybody in Flagstaff is really environmentally conscious,’ but honestly I don’t think they’re any more conscious than anywhere else,” Wagner said. “Most people are more concerned with other things in their lives. Getting to work, getting home from work, getting the kids to school and getting them home from school—that’s really what they’re concerned about.”
Although he and his family strive to be environmentally conscious by biking whenever possible and using the car less, Agnew says there are difficulties they face as a family.
“It’s hard working six days a week and being a full-time dad,” Agnew said.
Brohammer said he remains somewhat optimistic. He acknowledges that although this will be a difficult process and could fail on a scale outside the city government, the success of the program largely rests on community education—something he perceives to be lacking on a large scale.
“I saw on 60 Minutes [many] weeks ago, they stopped some people on the street back in New York and asked them what biodiesel was. Not one of them knew what it was,” Brohammer said.